


Kasumi: Stars

by historyofamanda



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, Memories, Reminiscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 12:58:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6754852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/historyofamanda/pseuds/historyofamanda
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kasumi and Shepard stargaze, reminisce about the past, and think about what lies ahead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kasumi: Stars

**Author's Note:**

> Things to keep in mind:  
> •The events in this story take place after the Destroy ending.  
> •Shepard survived the Destroy ending, she was picked up by the Normandy and healed at Huerta Memorial.   
> •Thane is still alive, his story follows the PC Thane Mod’s story where his Kepral’s syndrome was treated and he received a lung transplant.  
> •Thane and Shepard are engaged.

“Sometimes it’s still crazy to me that there’s just so much out there. So much that we know nothing about, so much we haven’t seen.”

Kasumi pulled her legs closer to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. 

Her and Shepard sat on a grassy hill surrounded by trees. They were bathed in moonlight and Kasumi’s eyes shined as she looked up at the stars. Her and Shepard made sure they met up every few months after the war ended to watch the stars together and talk. Star gazing had become something they always did together, it became a habit for them after spending so much time doing just that in the Normandy’s port observation deck. Some nights they spent more time not talking than talking, just enjoying sharing the same space. Shepard enjoyed Kasumi’s quick wit and cleverness. Kasumi had mastered the art of subtlety, something Shepard was admittedly not always the best at. Kasumi admired Shepard’s fearlessness and boldness, the fire inside her that made her unstoppable. But Kasumi also got to see the side of the commander that so few saw, the side that was sensitive, sometimes silly, and flawed, and this was the Shepard she grew so fond of.

Before the destruction of the collector base sleep rarely came for Shepard, and it eased her mind knowing that Kasumi was just a few floors below her to keep her company during her restless nights. Her romance with Thane didn’t fully develop until just before the suicide mission, and Thane was usually asleep in the life support room next door to Kasumi’s quarters very early in the night, as he was always one of the first awake after sunrise, so her nights were almost never spent with him at that point. Looking back, Shepard was grateful for that, because it allowed her and Kasumi to create so many memories that they now cherish and look back on fondly.

When Kasumi was in her room, she spent most of her time looking out the massive window or reading one of her many beloved books. There was not a book genre that she did not love. She preferred that her room was lit by candlelight rather than electricity, she never enjoyed the harsh fluorescent lighting in the Normandy. Kasumi was a night owl and she could often be found wandering the Normandy in the darkness while everyone else slept. Those were times she truly enjoyed, rare times where she felt she could comfortably move about uncloaked. Her profession led her to be a very solitary person, especially after losing Keiji. She enjoyed her privacy and she found comfort in the low hum of the Normandy’s engines as she explored.

While Kasumi typically shied away from a large amount of social interaction, the time she spent with Shepard meant a great deal to her. Her and Shepard sat together many nights and shared countless stories of love, loss, friendship, and everything in between. More than once Shepard sat quietly and let Kasumi cry over her lost Keiji, and laugh with her when she gushed over Jacob. She supported Shepard every step of the way as her love for Thane grew. Kasumi excitedly told Shepard the stories of characters in her books and Shepard went on and on about the vintage 21st century vids that she loved. Kasumi was always genuinely interested in everything Shepard had to say, and the feeling was mutual.

Shepard had a closeness with everyone in her crew, but Kasumi was someone that she felt was truly completely able to see her beyond being Commander Shepard, the famous war hero. Kasumi was not awed by Shepard, but simply respected her and cared for her deeply as a friend and confidant. Kasumi never once referred to her as “Commander”, but rather always affectionately called her “Shep.” She was the only person that called her that name and the only person who would dare to call her something like that in the first place. The night before Shepard left to retake Earth, she found a dusty copy of Ernest Hemingway’s _A Farewell to Arms_ placed on her nightstand with a note attached that said, “Go get ‘em, Shep.”

“We’ve seen so much, done so much.” Shepard said quietly. “But some days it definitely hits me that despite all of that, there’s still so much more in the universe than we can even imagine. For 50,000 years our races thought that we understood our galaxy, just to find out the Reapers were hiding in the dark spaces all along. Sometimes it feels like we just know so little.”

“As impossible as it may seem, let’s try to forget about the Reapers, just for right now.” Kasumi said.

Kasumi laid down and stretched out onto the grass, fingers laced behind her head, and Shepard followed suit.

“I met Jacob’s daughter not long ago. Ella? She’s beautiful. I was visiting a friend at Huerta Memorial, a salarian named Murr who snuck me out at the end of a job I did once on Dekuuna. Stole a rare copy of Shakespeare’s _Hamlet_ , long story. Anyway, Jacob and Brynn were there for the baby’s first check-up. I found out Jacob proposed, they’re getting married in the spring.”

“That must’ve been weird for you.”

Kasumi smiled. “One day he’ll come to his senses and realize that he’s crazy about me.”

“But seriously, fatherhood suits him. It really does. It’s given him a solid foundation that he really needed. After everything that he went through with his own father, I think having a child of his own is his way of making up for his father’s mistakes.”

Kasumi looked down, still smiling, and sighed.

“Ella’s got his eyes. He looks at that little girl like she’s the most precious thing in the universe.”

“I still haven’t met her. I remember Jacob telling me that Brynn wanted to name her after me and he was trying to change her mind. I’m glad he did.” Shepard said with a grin.

“But I agree,” she continued, “I think being is a father is exactly what Jacob needed. He deserves to have some peace in his life.”

They were quiet for a while, staring up at the sky and enjoying the cold air on their faces. 

Quiet moments used to be almost impossible to find, but now Shepard found herself with more quiet than she could get used to. She used to hate silence because it made it impossible to distract herself from her thoughts. After so many years of seemingly endless gunfire, screams, and the roar of ship engines, the lack of noise was still strange for Shepard at times. But when she and Kasumi were together, she learned to find comfort in quiet moments like these.

“What do you think we need, Kasumi? What are a retired soldier and the greatest thief in the galaxy supposed to do now that the war is over and the galaxy doesn’t need saving?”

“Well, stealing is just who I am. It’s what I was born to do. I’ll be stealing applesauce from my retirement home cafeteria one day, just you watch. But I think what you need right now is to take your mind off the past for a minute and focus on your future with that drell fiancé of yours. Who knows, maybe we’ll have some little Sheps running around sometime soon?”

Shepard smiled.

“Yeah, maybe.”

“You’re naming the first one after me, right?”


End file.
